PARIS, OCTOBER 15, 2016: (DGW) Senator Ali Wakili, Chairman Senate Committee on Poverty Alleviation in the Senate, calling to mind the difficult economic climate admitted in no uncertain terms that Nigerians are suffering.

He made this known in an interview with DAILY SUN where he covered a wide range of issues bordering on corruption and others and the President's determination to rid Nigeria of the cankerworm in his ongoing anti-corruption fight.

Senator Wakili corrected the false impression on the mind of Nigerians about the controversial monthly stipend of N5000 which according to him , many had thought was for the every unemployed in Nigeria.

Below is an abridged version of his interview with the Daily SUN:

Excerpts below:

Who do you think are the main beneficiaries of the N5,000 monthly social benefit promised by the Federal Government?

Let me first correct the impression. President Buhari never promised that he will give each unemployed youth a sum of N5,000. What he promised was that some vulnerable Nigerians are going to benefit from a token fee of N5, 000 out of the N500 billion approved for social benefit in the country. The social benefit fund which is the N500 billion encompasses so many programmes like the 500 teachers under the empowerment condition fund transfer, the school feeding and so on. The Federal Government is committed to all these programmes but you know that we are living in trying times, you can see that the revenue situation has not been very encouraging. Thus, the implementation of all these laudable projects depends on the fact that large sum of money comes to the federal treasury.

How far has the President gone in the fight against corruption?

When President Buhari began his campaign, one of his cardinal principles was to do away with corruption, and you have seen his determination to do away with corruption. You have seen the various reports coming out of the security fund, the campaign funds among others. You have also seen people that seem to be above the law being questioned. He is determined to tackle corrupt practices, and you have to determine it through transparency and accountability that is if you have to do away with it on a permanent basis, I think the President’s fight against corruption is very commendable.

Many reputable companies are folding up and laying-off their workers. It was reported recently that over five million Nigerians have lost their jobs since the inception of this administration, what is the implication of this on the image of the country?

The implication is, it’s very obvious that people are suffering; that our security is being threatened; that tension will continue to abound within the country. But I don’t know where you got this statistics. Sometimes, these statistics are very bogus, may be it came from those from the opposition camp to blackmail APC. I don’t know the veracity of this five million but what I know is that it is not within the last 18 calendar months that this has happened. These are accumulated effects of bad governance. The way out is for me and you to ensure that there is good governance, to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the running of the affairs of the country. The way out is to ensure that we diversify our economy so that local industries are really local industries, not a situation where you import 95 percent raw materials and you come and add 5 percent value and you said you are running a local industry. That is part of our problem.